Christmas Day fire does heavy damage at Clearview Inn

December 26, 2013

A Christmas Day fire heavily damaged the Clearview Inn, located on Route 27 and Tidioute Creek Road in Deerfield Township.

Owner Keith Reagle said on Thursday that the business was closed at the time of the fire and no one was in the building.

Garland Volunteer Fire Department Fire Chief Brian Bull said crews were on the scene for about three hours in very cold weather.

Article Photos

Times Observer photos by Rob AndersenRestaurant fireA Christmas Day fire came as an unpleasant surprise to Keith Reagle and his family, severely damaging the Clearview Inn with fire on the second floor and water damage on the ground floor. No one was in the building at the time. In the photo below, heavily-charred framing shows where the fire started in a second-floor back room on the northeast corner of the Clearview Inn. The studs were burned almost completely through, and sheeting on a back wall in the room is mostly gone.

Bull and Trooper Jason Sider, fire marshal for Franklin-based state police, re-entered the building Thursday morning to determine a cause.

Bull said that the fire most likely started in the back room of the second floor, based on the amount of charring of the walls, ceiling and framing.

Fire damage was limited to the second floor, for the most part, with water damage to the bar and dining areas.

Whether or not the building can be salvaged will be determined by the insurance company, according to Bull.

In addition to Garland, volunteer firefighters from Youngsville, Tidioute, Spring Creek and Grand Valley responded to the scene.